Re: Is sour mash a bourbon?

Re: Is sour mash a bourbon?

Chuck,

You say JD can be called bourbon. I am confused in The StraightBourbon FAQ it say the following:

6. Is Jack Daniel's a bourbon? Jack Daniel's, is not considered a bourbon because it is charcoal-mellowed -- slowly, drop by drop, filtered through sugar-maple charcoal -- prior to aging, which many experts say gives it a different character. The process, called the Lincoln County Process, infuses a sweet and sooty character into the distillate as it removes impurities. But up to and after the charcoal filtering, the Jack Daniel's production is much the same as any other Bourbon. Jack Daniel's and George Dickel are two fine Tennessee Whiskeys though neither can be called bourbon.

Can you elaborate. I always understood that under the definition of bourbon this extra step for Tenneesse Whiskey making is the reason it cannot be called a bourbon.

Re: Is sour mash a bourbon?

Of course, I knew that. But it is true (as no doubt you were alluding) that Jack at times has had a taste reminiscent of banana. Many others have stated this over the years, the point is not new. My point was simply to indicate I think the taste is coming out of the drink.

Re: Is sour mash a bourbon?

And they add bananas.

I had some JD at a party this summer in a manhattan. It was the only non-blended whiskey on the bar so that was my pick. While sipping it at the picnic table with my wife, it tasted like a banana manhattan but it may have been an older bottle as some have said that the banana taste is no longer present.

Maybe they were using charcoal made from banana skins?

"Brownest of the brown liquors..so tempting. What's that? You want me to drink you? But I'm in the middle of a trial!" L. Hutz

Re: Is sour mash a bourbon?

If I recall correctly, about the time Bourbon was starting to decline in popularity, the folks at JD decided they wanted to distance themselves from the category.

There is a clause in the TTB regs that say something to the effect that a product .. "possesses the character and attributes normally associated with ..." bourbon in this case ...

JD argued that their product should not be classified as bourbon because the charcoal mellowing process changed the character of JD sufficiently that it no longer possessed the character and attributes normally associated with bourbon ...

So ... TTB (then ATF) did not require them to label the product as bourbon ... they distanced themselves from the category ... and saw a period of great growth while the majority of the bourbon category saw decline.